Bail band assembly for intravenous liquid containers

ABSTRACT

A thin, flexible attaching band is detachably connected beneath a shoulder at the lower end of a bottle. A shorter flexible bailforming band having a finger recess is superimposed on the first band and connected thereby oppositely disposed rivets which slideably engage in longitudinal slots of the shorter band whereby the latter may be pulled outwardly and then swung upwardly to form a bail.

United States Patent [151 3,638,822

McCoy 1 Feb. I, 1972 [54] BAIL BAND ASSEMBLY FOR FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS INTRAVENOUS LIQUID CONTAINERS 521,890 8/1953 Belgium.... ..248/3l8 [72] Inventor: John J, McCoy, Milwaukee Wi 1,523,202 3/1968 France ..220/94 [73] Assignee: ggfgfikgfusfi Company Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner-Stephen Marcus [22] Filed: Apr. 10, 1970 Attorney-Morsel1& Morsell 21 App1.No.: 27,352

[52] us. Cl. ..21s/100 A, 220/94 R, 294/312, [57] ABSTRACT 224/45 R [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 23/10 A thin, xi hing nd i achably connected [58] Field of Search ..248/305, 307, 310, 31 l, 317, be h a shoulder at the lower end of a bottle. A shorter flex- 248/318, 323, 324, 341, 339; 24/20 R, 24, 16 R, 16 ible bail-forming band having a finger recess is superimposed 2 E 23 2 21 /1 R, 1 A; on the first band and connected thereby oppositely disposed 22 224/ AA, 45 45 4 1 rivets which slideably engage in longitudinal slots of the 1 12, 122, 126 shorter band whereby the latter may be pulled outwardly and then swung upwardly to form a bail.

[56] References Cited 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,482,867 12/1969 Allen ..294/31.2 1,192,152 7/1916 Atkinson ..24/20 EE l I I 7 I) 1 l X l i i r v l I l BAIL BAND ASSEMBLY FOR INTRAVENOUS LIQUID CONTAINERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to bail band assemblies for use principally for suspending bottles of the type used in hospitals for intravenous applications.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore bail band assemblies for the purpose described have consisted of a thin metal band or strap which is detachably connected around the lower end of a bottle beneath a shoulder thereon, there being a bail of round wire having bent ends hingedly inserted in holes in the flat band. Thus the assembly was a two-piece arrangement requiring either the band manufacturer or the pharmaceutical house to insert the ends of the bail wires into the holes in the bands.

The wire bail, when in inoperative position, projected a substantial distance beyond the side of the bottle with the result that it would catch into adjacent objects. These assemblies are usually installed on the bottles by the pharmaceutical company, and the laterally projecting bails have presented a problem during the loading of the bottles into the shipping containers, particularly when it was attempted to use auto matic carton-loading mechanism. Also the projecting bails rendered such packaging less compact than it might otherwise be. In addition, when the shipping containers, with the intravenous liquid bottles, arrived at a hospital, the loosely projecting bails have created a problem during removal of the bottles from the containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a bail band assembly wherein the bail, instead of being in the form of round wire with ends pivoted to the band, is in the form of a shorter band which is superimposed on the bottle-encircling band in such a way that the bail, when in inoperative position, is compactly superimposed on the bottle-encircling band in a way which eliminates the possibility of undesirable lateral projection. The connections between the ends of the shorter band and the main band are oppositely disposed on the bottle so as to permit easy pulling out and swinging of the bail portion from its compact stored position to a right-angularly swung position where it may function as a bail in suspending the bottle during intravenous feedings or other intravenous applications.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an im proved bail band assembly as above described comprising a main bottle-encircling band or strap and a superimposed shorter band connected to the first band by rivets which slideably engage in longitudinal slots in the shorter band, the rivets being so spaced that when the assembly is installed on a bottle they are diametrically opposite so that after the band has been pulled laterally outwardly, it may be swung to a rightangular position to form a bail.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bail band assembly as above described in which the shorter bail-forming band has a finger recess located to facilitate manipulation of the bail band portion.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a bail band assembly which is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, which is simple to install, which can be compactly shipped from the band manufacturer to the pharmaceutical house in flat, striplike form without projections, which requires no assembly of two portions by the pharmaceutical house before installation on the bottle, and which is otherwise well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the improved bail band assembly for intravenous liquid containers, and all of its parts and combinations, as set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the accompanying drawing, illustrating one complete embodiment of a preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts of all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the bail band assembly before installation on a bottle;

FIG. 2 is an edge view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the upper portion of an intravenous liquid bottle having the improved bail band assembly connected thereto, the broken lines indicating various positions of the bail as it is being pulled out and swung upwardly to operative position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the container of FIG. 3 showing the bail band assembly thereon in stored position; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view showing a bottle for intravenous liquid being supported from a hanger during use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates a thin flat attaching band which is preferably formed of thin bendable metal but which may be formed of other thin materials such as plastic. Any suitable end attaching means may be employed. In the illustrated embodiment one end of the band is cut to reduced width to provide a tongue 11 and the other end has an opening 12 of a diameter to receive the tongue 11. Projecting from the main band 10 are longitudinally spaced headed rivets I3 or other projections having very short shanks which extend through slots 14 in a shorter bail-forming band 15. The latter is superimposed on the attaching band 10 in the manner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is held by the heads of the rivets 13 in compact parallelism as is clear from FIG. 2. The shanks of the rivets, however, are just long enough with respect to the thickness of the bail band 15 to permit relative slideable movement of the bail band relative to the attaching band 10. It is preferred to form one edge of the bail band, intermediate its length, with a finger recess 16 having an outwardly offset margin 17, as shown in FIG. 4, with which a fingernail can be easily engaged.

The item is furnished by the band manufacturer to the pharmaceutical house in the form shown in FIG. I with the bail portion 15 permanently connected to the attaching band portion 10. In this form, as is clear from FIGS. 1 and 2, a large quantity of bail band assemblies may be shipped to the pharmaceutical house in a relatively small package, as the bail band assemblies can be stacked close to one another in parallelism during shipment. When the assemblies are in the flat condition of FIGS. 1 and 2 for shipment it is not possible for the bail-forming portions 15 to pivot-instead, they tend to stay flat against the attaching portion 10 as shown in FIG. 2 to provide for maximum compactness during shipment. However, the spacing of the rivets I3 is such with respect to the diameter of the bottle portion on which the bands are to be used that, when the attaching band is in encircling condition, this spacing brings the rivets l3 diametrically opposite one another so as to permit pivotal movement on the rivets as shown at (c) in FIG. 3, after the band has first been pulled outwardly as at (b) in FIG. 3.

At the pharmaceutical house the bail band assemblies can be quickly installed on bottles 18 of the type in which intravenous liquids are furnished to hospitals. A common use for the present invention is in connection with bottles containing intravenous feeding liquid. These bottles are customarily made of glass, but may, of course, be formed of other materials. They customarily have an annular shoulder I9 near their base ends with an annular recess 20 inwardly of the shoulder. At the pharmaceutical house each bottle may be quickly equipped with a bail band assembly by bending the band around the recessed portion 20 of the bottle, inserting the tongue 11 at one end of the band 10 into the hole 12 at the other end, and then bending the tongue over as shown in FIG. 3 to releasably lock the band in position around the bottle. The superimposed shorter band 15, which is to form the bail portion, bends with the band 10 and stays in close juxtaposition therewith as is clear from FIG. 4, where it will be seen that when the band is assembled and in stored condition all portions are within the line (a) of FIG. 4 so that there is no lateral projection. With the wire bail portions heretofore used, the wire bail was not confined within the bottle recess 20 but projected more than an inch therefrom, although it could be swung up against the bottle shoulder 19 or other side portion of the bottle. However, it was always in loosely pivoted condition and likely to catch into objects and was definitely in the way when the filled bottles were being loaded into shipping containers.

When the bottles equipped with the bail band assemblies of the present invention arrive at a hospital or other point of use, they may be easily withdrawn from the shipping containers as the bail band portions 15, when in the stored position of FIG, 4, form no interference during removal. When it is desired to use one of the bottles, a fingernail is inserted in the notch 17 and the bail portion is pulled outwardly to the broken line position (b) of FIG. 3, the slots 14 permitting such movement on the shanks of the rivets 13. Due to the fact that the rivets 13 are so spaced on the flat stock of FIG. 1 that they are diametrically opposite one another when installed, as in FIG. 3, the novel feature of the present invention permits the bail portion to be swung from the position (b) to the broken line position of FIG. 3 where it just clears the corners of the bottle shoulder. The slots 14 are made of just sufficient length to permit the amount of movement indicated in FIG. 3. From position (c) the bail portion is swung to position (d) of FIG. 3. In this position it may be readily suspended from a hanger 21, as shown in FIG. 5. The hanger is of the type which projects from a suitable supporting stand customarily used for supporting intravenous liquid bottles. While thus suspended the bottle is in the inverted position of FIG. whereby the liquid may be dispensed by gravity through a dispensing tube 22 leading to the patient.

It is to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

l. A bail band assembly for use on an intravenous liquid container comprising a first straight length of thin, flat, bendable band material having attaching means at its ends, a second straight length of thin, flat, bendable, bail-forming band material which is shorter than said first length superimposed thereon in parallelism, circumferentially spaced means movably connecting said band portions together for relative sliding movement in a longitudinal direction, said connecting means also providing pivots which are so spaced that when the first length has been bent to circular form with its end attaching means joined, the connecting means between the two band portions are positioned to provide for pivotal movement of said second length to a right-angular bail-forming position with respect to said first length.

2. A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the circumferentially spaced connecting means maintains the parts in parallelism and precludes said pivotal movement when the as sembly is in straight unbent condition for shipment.

3. A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the connecting means between the two lengths of band material comprises rivets on said first length and longitudinally extending slots in said second length which have slideable engagement with the rivets.

4. A combination as claimed in claim I in which there is a finger recess intermediate the length of said bail-forming band material.

5. In combination with a circular bottle having an annular recess near a bottom end, a thin, flat, bendable attaching band connected to the bottle in encircling position in said recess, a bail-forming band of lesser length than the attaching band superimposed on the latter within said bottle recess and having opposed ends, circumferentially spaced means on the attaching band and on said opposed ends of the bailforming band for movably and pivotally connecting said band portions together, said connecting means providing for relative slideable movement whereby the bail-forming band may be pulled laterally outwardly from a stored position to a bowed position outwardly of said annular recess and bottle, and said connecting means being so positioned on the bottle as to provide for pivotal movement whereby the bail-forming band may be swung over the end of the bottle to a position at right angles to its stored position, the bottle having an annular shoulder adjacent said bottom end, with the annular recess inwardly of said annular shoulder, and all portions of the connected bands being of lesser diameter than the annular shoulder of the bottle when in stored position in the recess.

6. In combination with a circular bottle having an annular recess near a bottom end, a thin, flat, bendable attaching band connected to the bottle in encircling position in said recess, a bail-forming band of lesser length than the attaching band concentrically superimposed on and in substantial contact throughout its length with the latter within said bottle recess and having opposed ends, circumferentially spaced means on the attaching band and on said opposed ends of the bail-forming band for movably and pivotally connecting said band portions together, said connecting means providing for relative slideable movement whereby the bail-forming band may be pulled laterally outwardly from a compactly stored concentric position to a bowed position outwardly of said annular recess and bottle, and said connecting means being so positioned on the bottle as to provide for pivotal movement whereby the bail-forming band may be swung over the end of the bottle to a position at right angles to its stored position.

7. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the connecting means comprises circumferentially extending and circumferentially spaced slots in one of the bands, and means on the other band coacting with said slots to provide for the relative sliding movement.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the connecting means comprises circumferentially spaced, outwardly extending rivets on the attaching band, and circumferentially extending slots near the ends of the bail-forming band through which said rivets extendv 9. A combination as claimed in claim 8 in which said slots in the bail-forming band are of such length as to provide for clearing of the bottom of the bottle after the bail-forming band portion has been pulled outwardly and while it is being swung to said right-angular position.

10. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the bailforming band portion has a finger recess intermediate its length. 

1. A bail band assembly for use on an intravenous liquid container comprising a first straight length of thin, flat, bendable band material having attaching means at its ends, a second straight length of thin, flat, bendable, bail-forming band material which is shorter than said first length superimposed thereon in parallelism, circumferentially spaced means movably connecting said band portions together for relative sliding movement in a longitudinal direction, said connecting means also providing pivots which are so spaced that when the first length has been bent to circular form with its end attaChing means joined, the connecting means between the two band portions are positioned to provide for pivotal movement of said second length to a right-angular bail-forming position with respect to said first length.
 2. A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the circumferentially spaced connecting means maintains the parts in parallelism and precludes said pivotal movement when the assembly is in straight unbent condition for shipment.
 3. A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the connecting means between the two lengths of band material comprises rivets on said first length and longitudinally extending slots in said second length which have slideable engagement with the rivets.
 4. A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which there is a finger recess intermediate the length of said bail-forming band material.
 5. In combination with a circular bottle having an annular recess near a bottom end, a thin, flat, bendable attaching band connected to the bottle in encircling position in said recess, a bail-forming band of lesser length than the attaching band superimposed on the latter within said bottle recess and having opposed ends, circumferentially spaced means on the attaching band and on said opposed ends of the bail-forming band for movably and pivotally connecting said band portions together, said connecting means providing for relative slideable movement whereby the bail-forming band may be pulled laterally outwardly from a stored position to a bowed position outwardly of said annular recess and bottle, and said connecting means being so positioned on the bottle as to provide for pivotal movement whereby the bail-forming band may be swung over the end of the bottle to a position at right angles to its stored position, the bottle having an annular shoulder adjacent said bottom end, with the annular recess inwardly of said annular shoulder, and all portions of the connected bands being of lesser diameter than the annular shoulder of the bottle when in stored position in the recess.
 6. In combination with a circular bottle having an annular recess near a bottom end, a thin, flat, bendable attaching band connected to the bottle in encircling position in said recess, a bail-forming band of lesser length than the attaching band concentrically superimposed on and in substantial contact throughout its length with the latter within said bottle recess and having opposed ends, circumferentially spaced means on the attaching band and on said opposed ends of the bail-forming band for movably and pivotally connecting said band portions together, said connecting means providing for relative slideable movement whereby the bail-forming band may be pulled laterally outwardly from a compactly stored concentric position to a bowed position outwardly of said annular recess and bottle, and said connecting means being so positioned on the bottle as to provide for pivotal movement whereby the bail-forming band may be swung over the end of the bottle to a position at right angles to its stored position.
 7. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the connecting means comprises circumferentially extending and circumferentially spaced slots in one of the bands, and means on the other band coacting with said slots to provide for the relative sliding movement.
 8. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the connecting means comprises circumferentially spaced, outwardly extending rivets on the attaching band, and circumferentially extending slots near the ends of the bail-forming band through which said rivets extend.
 9. A combination as claimed in claim 8 in which said slots in the bail-forming band are of such length as to provide for clearing of the bottom of the bottle after the bail-forming band portion has been pulled outwardly and while it is being swung to said right-angular position.
 10. A combination as claimed in claim 6 in which the bail-forming band portion has a finger recess intermediate its length. 